Arriving at the space station, Cole couldn't help but admire the view. From afar, it looked like an ordinary spaceship, but the closer the Express got, the more apparent it became that it was no mere ship but a full-on space station with potentially hundreds of people living there.
Gaining permission to dock at one of the railway platforms, the entire crew, minus Welt and Pom-Pom, disembarked.
They were greeted by two people Himeko had told him about. Asta, the lead researcher and the one managing the station's day-to-day affairs, and Arlan, the head of the space station's security department. Both, no doubt, play an important role in making sure the space station is running efficiently.
When both of their eyes landed on him, Cole could see them looking rather surprised at his appearance and even tensing their body slightly. It was a pretty normal occurrence by this point, and Cole had long accepted that other people's first impression of him might be a negative one, especially if the person had any knowledge of the Propagation. Not that he blames them, of course.
Though their surprised and slightly frightened expression was quickly replaced by warm smiles, probably after assessing that he was not a threat.
"Welcome back, Miss Himeko. This must be the newest member of the Nameless, Cole, if I remember correctly," Asta said as she and Arlan extended their hands toward Cole.
Cole nodded at their warm greeting and shook their hands. "It's nice to meet you, Asta and Arlan, right? Ms. Himeko told me about how kind you were to the Express crew during our last visit. I hope we can become friends."
"Nice to meet you, too, Cole," Arlan replied.
Himeko chuckled at their interaction. "Why don't you kids go on ahead. I have to speak to Asta about the resupply first and then hand over the relic. It'll be a while before Madam Herta calls you, Cole. Why not take this opportunity to explore the space station?"
"Sure."
Arlan then volunteered to give Cole a tour. "I'll go and show him around, Miss Himeko. What about you two? Want me to give you a second tour?"
"No, no. We already know our way around. We're going to the cafeteria first to have a quick bite. You two go on ahead, we'll catch up once we're done." March said, and Dan Heng gave a silent nod in agreement. "While we're at it, do you want anything?"
"If they have them, I'll have three double cheeseburgers with a side of large fries and a large soda. If not, just get me double what you two are having." Cole requested, which caused Asta and Arlan to look flabbergasted at his order.
"Jeez... If I haven't seen firsthand how hungry you got after using your clones... Still don't understand how you barely gain weight, though." Asta and Arlan looked rather confused at March's statement.
"What can I say? I'm a growing boy." That elicited a laugh from them all. Well, everyone except Dan Heng, who shakes his head in exasperation.
"Now that everyone has their mission, Asta." Said Himeko
"Very well. Please follow me, Miss Himeko." With that, she turned and led Miss Himeko away.
"Come on, Dan Heng. I'm starving over here," March said as she dragged Dan Heng, who protested against the rough treatment he was receiving.
"Now that it's just us, lead the way, Arlan."
.....
The tour was nothing to write home about. Aside from the curious, mainly those from the Department of Ecology, or even frightened expression on the staff as Cole walked past, Arlan just showed him where the various facilities are and their purpose.
Yet, as they walked around the space station, a feeling kept appearing in his gut. It was as if something was calling out for him somewhere in the space station. For what purpose, he doesn't know. Maybe he can ask Madam Herta later.
He ignored the feeling for now, though, as he instantly became alert when, out of the corner of his eyes, he could see a group of Voidrangers materialising in space one by one.
"Arlan! The Antimatter Legion is attacking the station!" He screamed out. At the same time, alarms blared loudly, and a loud announcement for immediate evacuation was ordered, most likely by Asta.
Arlan took a couple of seconds to register the threats before drawing his swords and making his way to a Voidranger who was chasing after a few researchers, his face showing a look of focus.
Unfortunately, a small force of the invaders had cornered some with an Eliminator, aiming its cannon at them.
Fortunately, Cole won't let that happen as he transforms into his combat form. The claws on his hands sharpen and elongate to the size of small daggers, while the small mandibles on the sides of his mouth grow thicker and longer with jagged grooves on the inside.
Opening his elytra, the sound of buzzing wings fills the air, and he flies as fast as he can, with the world around him becoming a blur.
Reaching the enemies, Cole raised both of his arms and, with a single sweep, tore through the Voidrangers. The first one didn't stand a chance as his claws cut into its flesh like butter, while the rest took a little bit of effort to cut down. The lone surviving Eliminator focused its attention on him as it tried to retaliate.
Cole didn't let it get a chance to fire off a shot as he closed the distance, jumping onto its body and disrupting its aim. He then positioned his mandible between its neck and, with a single motion, pinched them close. An audible crunch was heard as the Eliminator's head fell from its now lifeless body before dissipating into particles.
After dispatching them, he checked on the survivors, thankfully finding them with minimal scratches. "Are you all o-," Cole's words died in his throat as he saw the look of pure terror on one of the researchers, a rather young woman, judging by her appearance.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" The woman pushed Cole away before abruptly falling onto the ground and turning into a sobbing mess, her arms covering her head as if to shield herself.
A researcher nearby tried to comfort her. "Rosie! It's not the Swarm! He's one of the Nameless from the Astral Express."
"N-no, Alfred! I- it's only a matter of time before THEY come for us! They're going to devour us all... just like my home..."
Cole could only stand awkwardly as the group tried to console the woman and calm her down. He glanced to his side and noticed Arlan with a few researchers behind him. From Arlan's expression, Cole could tell that he had witnessed what had just happened.
"Umm... Thank you for saving them, Cole. Sorry for Rosie's behaviour, but please understand that her homeworld was ravaged by the Swarm when she was young and her entire family was well..."
"No need to explain further. I understand." Cole stopped him from finishing. "Never mind that, how's the situation?"
"The Antimatter Legion is currently attacking us from all directions. Fortunately, the others were able to hold them off and evacuate almost all the staff, thanks to Asta's quick thinking." Arlan's expression then grew serious. "Unfortunately, we have reports of people who are trapped, either because the Legion is blocking their way or because they are too injured to move."
"What about March and Dan Heng? Are they okay?"
Arlan shook his head. "We don't know, although one of the researchers claims to have heard Lady Asta sending them to the storage zone."
Cole nodded at the info. "Thanks. I'll search for them myself. No need to worry about me, you go and try to save as many people as you can, alright? Oh, and before I forget." Without warning, a bright red pulsating mass of energy orb engulfed Cole's entire form before two similarly sized orbs came from its sides. When the energy died down, everyone there could see three Coles standing beside each other.
"Here. Take them with you. If you have any orders, just tell them, and I'll know instantly. We'll meet back up once I find them." With that, Cole flew away deeper into the station, leaving behind two clones of himself looking at the group rather awkwardly.
"Uhh... Can we move already?" One of the Cole said, his face looking rather impatient.
They received no answer as they looked at the duo in silence. Only the sound of an explosion got them moving again.
.....
Cole zig-zagged through the space station, forgoing using the elevator so as not to slow himself down, only stopping to kill any enemies he sees and/or rescue any survivors he can find. Some only sustained minor injuries, while others had major ones or were even unconscious and had to be hidden in the meantime, while he informed Arlan of their location via his clone. By some miracle, he had not come across any dead among the staff.
He flinches as he feels the pain of one of his clones who was injured by a Reaver. While sharing one consciousness between his clones had many positives, such as faster information gathering/sharing, the ability to do multiple tasks at once, and even learn faster, it also had plenty of negatives. Sharing their sense of pain, albeit lessened as the sensation is distributed between them, is one of them.
While he can disconnect his connection from his clones and give them some autonomy, they barely retain any intelligence whatsoever and can only execute basic instructions. Because of this, he usually takes control of them whenever any complex situation arises.
This, combined with the mental strain of processing the memories and moving three different bodies simultaneously, especially in a stressful situation, always leaves him with a killer headache and absolutely famished after the fact.
At least he can lessen the negatives by training with his clones. Battling enemies and sparring are the most effective, but that will not always be available.
The second most effective, which was suggested by Welt, was forming a band filled with himself and making music with his clones whenever he gets 'inspiration', i.e, a whole song suddenly shoved in his head. Dan Heng had theorized that it may be residual memories from his 'past life', but none of the crew knew for sure.
Visualising the songs in his head is easy, but producing them is a whole other matter entirely. He had to basically learn a new instrument every time a song popped into his head. It was worth it, though, as even just a few months ago, he had gone from barely able to control a single clone to now two and sometimes three if he really concentrates.
Cole shook his head and focused back on searching. He can reminisce when they all get back to the Express safely.
.....
Entering the storage zone, he slashed through a Voidranger near the elevator. Scouting out the area, he found a few enemies near the entrance to the gallery of curios that Herta personally found interesting. Or at least that's what Arlan told him.
He ignored the call in his head to check the gallery on the left for whatever reason.
Sneaking up on them, he took a moment to focus his energy in his mandibles and mouth before unleashing a beam of liquid. As the liquid made contact, steam rose from their body as their forms started to dissolve on the spot. There is a pretty good reason he won't use this attack on another living creature that can feel pain, ever. Sentient or not.
Stopping for a moment to take a deep breath, he smells the distinct scent of March and Dan Heng close by, along with an unfamiliar one among them. Must be another researcher then.
"Eugh... just the smell of it is making me dizzy. Hopefully Asta isn't going to be mad about this." Pretty close by, as March, Dan Heng, and an unknown gray-haired girl wielding a baseball bat come out to the platform holding their noses and tiptoeing around the floor, which has partially dissolved.
"March, Dan Heng! You're both okay." Said Cole with relief. "And who's this with you?"
"Cole, this is Stelle. We found her unconscious in the gallery. When she woke up, she could only remember her name," Explained March.
"H-hello," Stelle greeted timidly, clearly intimidated by his appearance.
Dan Heng reassured her, "Don't worry, Stelle. This is just his combat form."
"Still gives me the shivers even after we've fought together so many times," March added.
Stelle nodded and extended her hand for a handshake, which Cole took. "Nice to meet you," she said.
Cole smiled at her but quickly adopted a serious expression as he turned to face March and Dan Heng. "Arlan is waiting for us in the control room. We shouldn't keep him waiting. Follow me!"
Reaching the control room, Arlan greeted them with a smile. "It's good to have you all safe and sound."
"How's the station doing?" Asked Dan Heng.
"Not good, but it could have been way worse. Thanks to Cole and his clones, we've managed to locate and evacuate all personnel into the safe zone. They're currently being treated for injuries."
March elbows Cole on his sides. "Heard that Cole, you're going to be treated as a hero when all of this blows over."
"Now's not the time to celebrate, March. We're not out of danger yet. We need to get to the master control zone and link back up with Miss Himeko." Said Dan Heng.
Arlan nodded at Dan Heng. "I agree. Let's activate the elevator and get you all back. I assume Lady Asta gave one of you the encryption key to access the elevator control system?"
"Oh, right." March rummaged through her pockets before pulling out a card. "Here you go."
"Thanks." Arlan reactivated the elevator, but only for the highest floor to keep the master control zone secure.
March grumbled about having to take the long way around. "At times like this, I wish I could grow wings and fly."
"There's no point in complaining about it," Dan Heng replied.
Cole looked at Stelle, noticing her still confused expression. "Let's go, Stelle." Grabbing her hands gently, he carefully led her to their destination.
The walk there was relatively peaceful, as they even picked up a lightcone along the way. It was perhaps a bit too peaceful, but everyone said nothing about it so as not to jinx themselves.
"The area looks clear, and we didn't even encounter any enemies along the way." With the sole exception of March, who just had to open her mouth.
March realised what she had just uttered and apologetically looked at the rest of the group, who wore various expressions. "I just jinxed it, didn't I?"
Just then, an arrow from a Trampler, who had landed on the bridge to the elevator, streaked through the air heading straight towards the group.
Thinking fast, Cole faced his back towards the arrow and tucked his wings. "Ow!" He groaned out as the arrow struck his elytra, which thankfully absorbed most of the damage.
Seeing its shot doing almost no damage, the Trampler galloped to him, intending to crush him under its weight.
"March, now!" Dan Heng yelled out.
"Hyah!" March then fired an ice arrow, hitting one of the Trampler's front legs and freezing it in its place. As it tried to break free, Dan Heng took the opportunity to fully immobilize it with a slice of his spear to its other front leg.
As it roared to call for reinforcement, a bonk to its head, courtesy of Stelle, silenced it as its unconscious body fell down from the bridge to presumably its death, judging by the loud thud echoing.
Their victory is cut short as a dozen Voidrangers teleported to their location, forming a blockade to the elevator.
"These guys are swarming us like a bunch of locusts. No offense, Cole." March commented.
"None taken." Cole took note of the enemies in front of the group before smirking. "3, 2... 1. Now."
On time, the arrival of Himeko's deadly drone cut some with ease, allowing them to slip past and board the elevator to safety.